Toilet Catch Pan

ABSTRACT

A toilet catch pan device for capturing and containing liquid runoff. Once installed underneath a toilet bowl, the toilet catch pan includes a base enclosed by a sidewall with an open upper end to create a reservoir capable of receiving and storing toilet overflow or leakage. The base further includes an aperture and several channels appropriately sized and positioned to receive pipes for the installation of a toilet howl. The sidewall further includes a relief outlet in fluid communication with the reservoir so that the captured liquid runoff can be redirected or discharged in the event that the capacity of the reservoir is exceeded.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/473,627 filed on Mar. 20, 2017. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to water damage and unpleasant messes caused by leaky or overflowing toilets. If not taken care of the leak or overflow can rot floors, facilitate mold growth, discolor tiles, warp floors, and cause damage to the walls, floors, and ceilings of floors below. Repairs of damaged structures can be expensive, and clean-up of toilet related messes can potentially cause widespread bacterial exposure and a long and arduous clean-up process.

Devices have been disclosed in the known art that relate to toilet catch pans. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These known art devices have several known drawbacks. For example, these devices provide no additional means of overflow protection in the event that the capacity of the catch pan is exceeded. Furthermore, none of the known devices provide a raised aperture in the base as additional safeguard against leaks from the catch pan itself.

In light of the devices disclosed in the known art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for and improvement to toilet catch pan devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent to the types of toilet catch pans in the known art, the present invention provides one or more relief outlets wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when faced with overflow or leakage in excess of the catch pan's capacity.

It is therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved means of leakage and/or overflow protection that has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention is to provide a base member having a U-shaped front end and a T-shaped back end that altogether has the general shape of a toilet bowl to create more efficient storage space within the environment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of channels that are spaced at intervals from one another, spaced at a distance from the sidewall and rise perpendicularly from the back end of the base member directly below the space where the tank in most conventional toilets will sit in order to receive pipes therethrough that will run from the floor beneath the catch pan up to the tank above, such that the catch pan is ideally positioned to capture any leakage or overflow from the tank.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a sidewall surrounding and extending perpendicularly upward from the base member creating an interior volume with an open upper end to maximize both the volume and surface area available for capturing toilet leakage and overflow in the catch pan.

A further object of the present invention is to provide one or more relief outlets disposed on the sidewall configured to redirect the captured liquid elsewhere in the event that further storage is needed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a raised aperture positioned on top of a sloping section of the base that is slightly raised relative to the surrounding surface area to allow any toilet leakage or overflow to run down and away from the aperture, towards the relief outlets.

Another object of the present invention is to provide guide post that extends upward from the top/sloping section on opposing lateral sides of the aperture to facilitate easy installation of toilet piping.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a toilet catch pan.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the toilet catch pan installed beneath a toilet.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up view of an aperture in the toilet catch pan.

FIG. 4A shows a view of a cross-sectional view of a channel cut along AA′.

FIG. 4B shows a view of a plan view of a channel.

FIG. 5A shows a close-up of a capped channel.

FIG. 5B shows a close-up of a relief outlet.

FIG. 6 shows a close-up view of a pipe installed through a channel leaking water into the toilet catch pan according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the toilet catch pan. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a toilet catch pan 100. The toilet catch pan 100 comprises a base 110 having a U-shaped front end 111 and a T-shaped back end 112, both of which are completely enclosed by a sidewall 140. In the shown embodiment, the sidewall 140 extends perpendicularly from the base member 110 to create an interior volume 150 with an open upper end 151 capable of capturing liquid runoff from toilet overflow or leakage. In alternative embodiments, the sidewall 140 may extend at an angle relative the base 110, such that the base 110 and sidewall 140 contains fluid therein. In the illustrated embodiment the sidewall 140 extends to a height of 2″, but in other embodiments the sidewall 140 may have different heights to reduce or increase the interior volume 150.

The base member 110 further includes an aperture 120 disposed in the center of the U-shaped front end 111, and one or more channels 130 disposed in the T-shaped back end 112 of the base member 110 configured to receive pipes therein such that the channels 130 are spaced at intervals from one another, spaced at a distance from the sidewall 140 and rise perpendicularly from the base member 110.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base member contains three channels 130 all of which are circular in shape having a diameter of 1″, two of which are sealed by friction fitted caps 135 because they are not in use and the third 134 is left open to receive piping upon installation. In other embodiments the catch pan 100 may have a different number of channels 130, and the channels 130 may have different shapes, be spaced at different intervals from one another, and be spaced at a different distance from the sidewall 140.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a perspective view of the toilet catch pan installed beneath a toilet. In the illustrated embodiment the catch pan 100 is made of molded plastic and maintains at least a 2″ separation at all points around the perimeter of the toilet. In other embodiments the catch pan 100 may be made out of other materials, and have other dimensions.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a close-up view of the aperture 120 in the toilet catch pan 100 according to the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment the aperture 120 is circular in shape with a ⅝″ diameter, and configured to receive piping from toilet fixtures upon installation. In other embodiments the aperture 120 may have different shapes and sizes. Additionally, the aperture 120 is positioned at the top of a gently sloping section of the base member 121 that is slightly raised relative to the surrounding surface such that at low volume the captured liquid runoff will be unable to escape through any gaps between the piping and the base member 110. The illustrated embodiment also shows two guide posts 122 that are disposed on opposite ends of the aperture 120 to aid in the installation of and to further secure piping from toilet fixtures. Other embodiments may have a different number of guide posts 122 or none at all.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, there is shown a cross-sectional view of a channel 130 cut along line AA′ according to the present invention and a plan view of a channel 130, respectively. Each channel 130 is surrounded by secondary interior walls 131 that extend perpendicularly from the base member 110 with an open upper end 132 and an open lower end 133 configured to allow piping through upon installation or to be capped by a friction fit cap 135 if not being used. In the illustrated embodiment the channel 130 is circular with a 1″ diameter, but in other embodiments the channel 130 may have other dimensions and shapes.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, there shown a close-up view of a channel 130 sealed with a friction fitting cap 135 according to the present invention and a close-up view of a relief outlet 141 according to the present invention, respectively. A relief outlet 141 disposed on the sidewall 140 is provided to redirect captured liquid runoff elsewhere in the event that the storage capacity of the interior volume 150 is exceeded. In the illustrated embodiment the relief outlet 141 is circular with a 1″ diameter and positioned on the T-shaped back end portion of the sidewall 140, but in other embodiments the outlet may have other dimensions and be positioned elsewhere on sidewall 140.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown an example usage of the toilet catch pan 100 in action. FIG. 6 shows a close-up view of a pipe installed through a channel 134 leaking water into the toilet catch pan 100, where the leaking water is being captured and contained in the interior volume 150 according to the present invention. In the event that the capacity of the interior volume 150 is exceeded, the relief outlets (not shown) could redirect the captured water elsewhere to another container before overflowing.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

1) A toilet catch pan, comprising: a base having a front end and a back end; a sidewall extending from and surrounding the base creating an interior volume with an open upper end; an aperture disposed in the front end of the base configured to receive a pipe therein; a plurality of channels disposed in the back end of the base configured to receive pipes therein such that the channels are spaced at intervals from one another, spaced at a distance from the sidewall and rise perpendicularly from the base; a relief outlet disposed on the sidewall, in fluid communication with the interior volume and configured to discharge fluid captured therein. 2) The toilet catch pan of claim 1, wherein the aperture is positioned at a top of a sloping section of the base that is slightly raised relative to a surrounding surface. 3) The toilet catch pan of claim 2, wherein a guide post extends upward from the top sloping section on opposing lateral sides of the aperture. 4) The toilet catch pan of claim 1, wherein the aperture is circular in shape. 5) The toilet catch pan of claim 4, wherein the aperture is at least ⅝″ in diameter measured internally. 6) The toilet catch pan of claim 1, wherein the plurality of channels are surrounded by a secondary interior wall that extends perpendicularly from the base, the secondary interior wall including an open upper end and an open lower end configured to receive a pipe or to be capped by a friction fit cap. 7) The toilet catch pan of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of channels are at least 1″ in diameter measured internally. 8) The toilet catch pan of claim 1, wherein the base extends out to the sidewall such that a minimum separation of 2″ is maintained between the sidewall and toilet. 9) The toilet catch pan of claim 1, wherein the toilet catch pan comprises molded plastic. 10) The toilet catch pan of claim 1, wherein the height of the relief outlet is below half of the height of the sidewall. 